Addiction and Mental Health Treatment

Addiction and mental health disorders go hand in hand. In fact, it’s common for underlying mental health problems to lead to addiction and vice versa. Getting mental health treatment for underlying disorders is an important step in recovery.

Is Addiction a Mental Disorder?

Yes, the medical community considers addiction to be a mental disorder. It’s in this category because it changes the brain on a fundamental level. Addiction disrupts people’s normal desires and needs. The compulsive behaviors that it causes robs them of their ability to control impulses.

Studies show that once the brain develops a mental disorder, it’s easy for it to develop another. Since addiction is a mental disorder, it’s common for other disorders to form. For example, people may also develop depression or anxiety issues.

In some cases, however, the development of another disorder leads to addiction. For example, people who have depression may try to drink their problems away. Doctors refer to this behavior as self-medication. Over time, their reliance on alcohol turns into addiction.

The Benefits of Mental Health Treatment

Rehab centers frequently offer mental health treatment in the form of dual diagnosis programs. These not only help people overcome addiction but also address underlying mental health issues.

Receiving Two Treatments

One benefit of dual diagnosis programs is that people get two treatments in one. Alongside mental health treatment, they get addiction help. In most cases, dealing with the addiction is the top concern. Rehab centers deal with it first because it puts people’s overall physical health at risk.

After dealing with the addiction, the rehab center moves on to the mental disorder. During dual diagnosis care, therapists attempt to address people’s emotional dependence on drugs. Getting to the bottom of the dependence is key to overcoming addiction.

Coping Skills

During dual diagnosis treatment, people also learn to gain control of the issues that control them. It helps them break the endless cycle of drug use and compulsions. Therapists assist people in understanding their drug triggers and how to avoid them to achieve that objective.

It’s important for people to talk about their triggers so that they know what they are. They also need to devise a plan for how to avoid triggers. In addition, their plans should prepare them for what to do when they’re in a trigger situation.

Preparing for the Future

The most important aspect of dual diagnosis is that it helps people prepare for life after rehab. The information that they learn can help them hold down a job and go to school.

Co-occurring disorders aren’t easy for people to deal with, but dual diagnosis treatment can help. Ignoring underlying mental disorders is never a good idea. Failure to address them often leads to drug use after treatment.

The Hills Treatment Center Provides Dual Diagnosis Treatment

At The Hills Treatment Center, we don’t just want you to overcome your addiction. We want to ensure that your active addiction never comes back. To prevent relapse, we create custom treatment plans that address the individual needs of our clients.

We pride ourselves in offering a wide assortment of addiction treatment programs. Using a combination of these programs, we can ensure that all of our clients get the treatment that they deserve. Some of these programs include: